Today the Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, but what Sukkot is? (THREAD)
Sukkot is a Jewish holiday, marks the Exodus, the third of the 3 pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) on which the Israelites were commanded to perform a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
In fact, the holiday - Passover also marks the Exodus from Egypt, so how are the two different? Meanwhile on Passover the Jews read the Haggadah which tells the story of the exodus, and eat matzah (in memory of the Israelites who didn’t have time to bake bread),
On Sukkot, they recreate how the Israelites lived in the desert after the Exodus. In the book of Leviticus, God commands the Israelites to live in Sukkot so future generations will remember how he brought them out of the slavery in Egypt.
So what Sukkah is? basically it’s a type of booth/tent, its roof is made of a thatch or palm fronds aka S’chach. It’s customary to decorate the interior of the sukkah with hanging decorations.
On this holiday the Jews are commanded to stay in the sukkah as if it were their home, they should eat and sleep there.
The holiday is characterized by 4 kinds of vegetarian that represent the kind of people in Judaism who are united into one nation - Am Yisrael. (Nation of Israel - the Jewish nation).
• Lulav is a palm branch, known for its taste but has no smell. The meaning of Lulav is that there are people who know the Torah and the commandments but don’t do the good deeds as written.
• Arava is two willows, it has no taste and no smell. The meaning behind Arava is that there are people who don’t know the Torah and its importance and they don’t do its good deeds as well.
• Hadas is a myrtle, known for its good smell but it has no taste. The meaning of Hadas is that there are people who do good deeds, they’re good people but they don’t know the Torah and its commandments.
• Etrog is cirton, known for both, its good taste and the good smell. The meaning behind Etrog is that there are people who know the Torah, follow it and do good deeds. This kind of people are the purest and the righteous.
The mitzvah of the holiday is bringing all the Four Kinds together and waving them to 7 directions. Bringing them together represents the unity of the nation despite their external differences.
Other customs that the Israelites did during the Temple period were to collect water in a golden container and bring it to the Temple where they would receive it with the sound of trumpets. In addition they would surround and dance around the temple with the Arava branches.
Another costumery is the Ushpizin, translated from Aramaic to “guests” and refers to 7 supernal guests, the fathers of the Jewish nation: Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, Aharon, Joseph and David, it’s customary to decorate the sukkah with their pictures.
Apart from the Jewish belief which is that every day the soul of a different biblical figure arrives, and there are those who even leave a seat for the prophet Elijah, the Jews tend to host their families and even strangers as part of the hospitality commandment.
Sukkot is considered the happiest holiday, due to its many customs, food, decorations, dances. The holiday is also called the harvest festival, in which the year of agriculture ends and the grain is collected. The holiday is celebrated for 7 days in Israel & 8 days in Diaspora.
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A scroll found in the Qumran cave in the 1950s and is believed to lead towards a great treasure of gold and silver, buried all across Jerusalem.
About the strange and mysterious scroll, The Copper Scroll 📜 (Thread)
Qumran Cave is a historical site discovered by chance by a Bedouin boy who saw ancient clay pots with engraved manuscripts when he walked around with his goat. Archaeological excavations began at the site and about 929 Jewish manuscripts, some of them scrolls, were found there.
Findings and remains of a settlement that existed nearby were also found near the cave.
In 1952, the unique scroll was found near the cave, different from the rest. Written in Hebrew-Aramaic script engraved on a pure copper originating in Egypt.
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world.
These centuries manifested periods of tolerance, religious and cultural flourishing, alongside periods of anti-Semitism and persecution.
Jewish ethnic divisions- Sephardic Jews, also known as Spanish Jews (Thread)
A Sephardi Jew is a Jew descended from the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th century, prior to their expulsion.
Jewish presence on the Iberian Peninsula dates back to Roman period.
According to the Sephardic Jewish tradition, the first Jews who came to the region were descendants of Judah & Benjamin, inhabitants of Jerusalem who had been expelled by Titus. During the destruction of the Temple, thousands of Jews were expelled to Roma & the Iberian Peninsula.
This evening we will mark Tisha B'Av, a day of fasting to mark and commemorate the tragedies that befell the Jewish people, including the destruction of the Temple. (THREAD)
Tisha B'Av is the 9th day of the Hebrew month "Av", a day that is considered the culmination of a period of mourning which lasts for almost a month and began at the end of the holiday of Shavuot.
This period is called “The Three Weeks”, and considered to be a dangerous time with bad luck.
During this period throughout Jewish history, tragedies and disasters occurred such as: the destruction of the 2 Temples in Jerusalem, the expulsion of Jews from England, France, Spain.
Jewish ethnic divisions - Iranian Jews, also known as Persian Jews (Thread)
Iranian Jewry mostly calls itself "Persian Jewry" after the Persian kingdom in which they lived and after the Persian language the speak. The Jewish community in Iran is one of the oldest community and the only community to remind in a Muslim country.
The presence of Jews in the area occurred about 2500 years ago, with the exile of the Israelites by the king of Assyria. They lived with the Zoroastrians. The Zoroastrian religion influenced the Jewish religion and some of Jewish beliefs are originated in this religion.
What does the Star of David, also known as Magen David symbolize and does it have mystical power? (THREAD)
The shape of the Star of David is hexagram, a 6 pointed geometric stat, common mainly in Jewish and Buddhist culture.
The Star of David is a familiar symbol in Far East cultures, and can be found in ancient temples across India.
According to Hinduism, this symbolizes the goddess Lakshmi. In Buddhism it‘s believed that this symbol has a mystical power of peace and harmony and is even occasionally used in meditation.